A little bag for Lucy.
I made a bag for Lucy. It looked strange.
What was the matter with it? I forgot to quilt it!!
So here is A Bag For Lucy . Mark2.

Maungatautari - the Mountain.

Maungatautari is circled by 47kms of mouse proof fence.
It keeps out introduced nasties like rats and stoats.
The goal is a predator-free mountain where our endangered native birds can breed
in safety in a beautiful milieu.

Pay It Forward..

How to say thank you to J&J for such a wonderful dinner and outing to farewell
Steve and Ann, who leave New Zealand on Sunday.
I had the bright idea... PayIt Forward!
So J&J, I have made my donation to The Maungatautari Trust as a thank you to you!
Thank you for a wonderful time.

We came across many insects and spiders.

The bush was beautiful in the soft light of the full moon.
We hoped to come across a kiwi, and we did hear tromping through the undergrowth
that Jillian assured us was a kiwi, but true to it's reputation of being shy,
it stayed well out of sight.

The Big Surprise!

Well done and thank you Jeanine and John.
We were whisked away to a wonderful dinner ... "Out In The styx" Pukeatua.
We dined with Jillian our Maungatautari Mountain guide who prepared
us for our Night Walk in the mountain.

Another Autumn.. 13 years ago today...
Thinking with love
of Ross.

My daily doodle looked a bit like a mailbox,
so I turned it into one..
I am being picked up at 5.30pm this evening.
I am told to bring walking shoes and a coat.
I wonder where I am going.
It is a surprise.

Willow, The Cat.

Pussy Willow,The "Don't Mess With Me" Cat, is my neighbour.
He likes to explore my garden while his family are at work and school.
He likes Autumn leaves as much as I do and we play silly games with them. Although I must say the games are not quite as silly as they were. He looks at me sometimes as if to say " For Goodness sake Joan. I don't do that silly kitten stuff!"
He's a very cool cat.

Up to my ankles in leaves!
Leaves fly about me like some festival of madness!
I love Autumn.
Remembering a Jane Monk tangle..

Farewell to Anne.

For Anne.
"As stillness in stone to silence is wed..
As Autumn rain softens the earth with surprise..
As clay anchors a tree in light and wind.."
so you will live in our hearts dear friend.

Riroriro- Sing a Song for Peace.

A mellow ANZAC morning.
A restful day of memory.
I have been sitting up in bed doodling away
thinking about the lovely day I had in Auckland yesterday.
The delicious morning tea and conversation Steve and I had with my lovely friend Barbara
on her back deck - drinking tea and eating freshly baked cheese puffs.
A wonderful reunion lunch with friends from 1960
Mater Hospital, where we were fresh from school working as nurse aids
before setting off on our careers.
A very happy day..
and all the while outside on this mellow ANZAC Day
the little Riroriro sings away unseen somewhere in my misty garden.

Back to a doodle a day..

The oneness of all forms..
the "gloopy soup" of atoms that evolve, rise up, flourish and fade..
the wonderful dance of creation

Anne


My love goes to Kevin and her boys.
Outside there is a fine misty rain falling..
The tears of the Tupuna
the Ancestors

Go in peace dear friend

So today is Earth Day.
I am grateful for the veges growing in my little garden.
I am grateful for my family and friends.
I am grateful to be living in this beautiful country
Aotearoa New Zealand.
I am grateful for the gift of awareness that allows me to see all this...

Feijoa seaon is here. Hurrah!

Such a Mystery it all is.

Walking around the lake I came across the butterfly wings
lying together in amongst the leaves and moss under the trees
in "the place where bluebells grow".

I carried them home, so fragile and beautiful.
All around... the mellowness of Autumn and the fragility of life...
I dedicate this post to my friend Anne who is so ill..
and so beautiful and passionate about life..

On the landing of my lower stairs
there is a collection of crosses from around the world
and a small reliquary of a bird,
and a tiny bird's nest holding little Earth treasures..

A Reliquary for a small bird.

Earth Treasures.

I added the delicate butterfly wings to the little nest that
sits with my bird reliquary.
The little bird skull in the reliquary I found one morning in the garden by my studio door.

Little Earth treasures beyond compare..
I remember the story of THE LITTLEST ANGEL
Linda and I loved to listen to on the Children's Request Session as children.
God gave him one request for something from earth
and he asked for the box from under his bed..
what did it contain? Maybe a stone, a feather...

.

Thinking about spirals.

How often spirals appear in my doodles..
No wonder... they are all around us

A baby frond unfurls on the fern in my living room.
A beautiful koru.
The fern came from a table centrepiece at Ann and Steve's wedding.

How beautiful is the shape of the spiral.
In maori art it is the koru.
It is a shape that comes so naturally to artists.
These little pebbles and the sun bleached snail shells
I found in The Sahara.
The dish made from fossil stone I bought from Berbers of The Sahara.